


An Act of Kindness

by Impossiblefangirl0632



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: A lot - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Ben is trying okay, Church of the Force, Eventual Fluff, F/M, Rey runs a shelter for kids, Slow Burn, The kids at the shelter are sarcastic little twerps and rey loves them, mentions of past gang activities, mentions of severe depression, religion is discussed, the force is a religion, vague mentions to suicidal thoughts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2019-12-30 15:11:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18317810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Impossiblefangirl0632/pseuds/Impossiblefangirl0632
Summary: An act of kindness can change everything. Or how Rey once talked to a stranger on a park bench and it lead him to rethink all his life decisions.  Somewhere down the line she meets him again except neither remember what the stranger on the bench looked like. They grow closer as they explore their beliefs, forgiveness and try (and fail) to convince the kids at the shelter Rey runs that they're not dating.





	1. The Act of Kindness

**Author's Note:**

> The idea for this fic came from thinking about the force, star wars and the similarities to religion (especially Christianity) and I ended up with a story of Ben being raised in the Church of the Force, leaving it and his journey back. If that sounds like not your cup of tea feel free to skip this story.

It was cold and damp and Rey just wanted to get home. 

She decided to take a shortcut through the park. It would be quicker and, if she stuck near the trees, dryer. The sun had gone down a few minutes ago and the residual light would last for maybe 10 more minutes, enough time to get through the park. Rey vaguely heard the sound of shifting fabric and a barely audible groan. She glanced towards the source but didn’t stop. Set back near the trunk of an old tree was a typical park bench. The trees branches extended several yards towards the path and were currently shielding Rey from the late autumn snow. The sound had come from the man sitting hunched over, seeming to collapse in on himself.  He was dressed in a worn black hoodie and jeans. He would have blended into the surrounding darkness had his clothing not contrasted so well against the pale silver of the tree trunk he was using for shelter.

_ Go talk to him.  _

Rey stopped short. THe quiet whisper of the force filled her mind again.  _ Go talk to him. _ The force’s whisperings had helped her throughout her life though she didn’t know what it was until recently. Nothing bad had ever come from following its promptings though this gave her a slight pause. Her street smarts, acquired through her years as a girl in the system, were shouting that this was a terrible idea. You don’t just go talk to strange men on park benches, especially in the dark.

_ He needs help.You’ll be safe.  _

Rey was naturally inclined to want to help people when she saw they were hurting. It’s what made her choose her career. This combined with that second nudge from the force were all she needed. Making up her mind she steeled herself and stepped off the path.

 

She approached the bench slowly. “Do you mind if I sit by you?” The sound of her crisp british accent caused the man to stiffen slightly. He hadn’t heard her coming. He squinted at her clearly trying to focus. After a few awkward seconds of unintentional glaring he nodded once. She gingerly sat down on the opposite end of the bench. Even from here she could detect the vaguely sweet scent of alcohol on him. His were on of elbows on knees, hands clasped, head down, hood pulled low over his face. The typical posture of someone deep in thought, or praying.  _  What on earth am I supposed to do now???  _  The force, oh so helpfully, stayed silent. As the seconds ticked by Rey tried to think frantically of something to say while trying and failing not to openly stare. She opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by a low mumble. 

“Did you have a reason for sitting next t’me or did you just come over here to stare at the garbage?”

Rey flushed a bright pink and stammered out a no. Summoning her courage, she gently said, “You just looked like you could use someone to talk to.” Her chest felt warm and she knew she had said the right thing. She watched the man now, no longer feeling awkward at being there, and waited for him to talk.

He looked surprised and glanced away from her open stare. He laughed, a hollow breath and sat up a little straighter, though his face was still hidden. “You ever wish you could go back, tell yourself not to do stuff, not to trust certain people?” She nodded, encouraging him to keep going. “I feel like my life would be a whole lot different. Might actually be worth living.”

She gently put her hand on his shoulder in what she hoped was a comforting but not invasive way. “Whatever is troubling you, your life is worth something. And if you don’t think it is then know that it’s important to me.”

“Why would it be important to you? You don’t know me…”

“No, but I know you’re a person a living breathing person with potential and worth.”

He snorted “Like I haven’t heard that a million times. Tell me are you one of those people who get off on ‘helping’ people who’re depressed because if you are you can just leave.” He shrugged her hand off his shoulder.

Rey choose to let the comment slide. “No I was just walking past and the Force said to go talk to you.”

“The Force said…” He looked alarmed and then annoyed. “The Force has never helped me before and I doubt it’s going to start now.”

Rey took a mental step back. “What brought you out here tonight?”

He grunted.  “Boss wants me t’go back to enforcing. But I hate it. I hate him and his stupid gang. I’d burn it all down if I could.”

The pieces were starting to click to Rey “Your boss, he makes you do things you don’t want to, illegal things?”

He groaned “You’re a cop aren’t you? I mean not that it matters, I think I’d rather rot in jail then keep working for him.”

Rey shook her head. “No I’m not a police officer. But I do know why I needed to talk to you now. As someone who was trapped in a similar situation, take it from me.”  His head snapped up, bloodshot eyes trying to focus on her face though she continued to look at the stars now filtering through the sparse sections of the tree canopy. She had never really told anyone about being forced to work in the chop shop but she knew this is what the bench man needed to hear. “You can get out. I was stuck working in an illegal chop shop for nearly 10 years but I still made it out. You said going to jail would be better than staying where you are. Take what you know and go to the authorities, it worked for me, despite what movies would have you think they can actually do their jobs.”

“how can you have been stuck in a chop shop for 10 years you're not old enough.”

She glared at him. “it started when I was 8.”

“Oh. I was 15. Least I made my decision.”

Rey waved the issue off. “I’ve made my peace with my childhood. We’re trying to help you here.”

“But why!” He shouted “I don’t get it why are you trying to help me!” His voice grew choked, coming out as barely a whisper “It’s been so long since anyone has tried.”

“Because I genuinely want to help you. ‘If you can be one thing, be kind.’ I teach kids to live by those words and what kind of teacher would I be if I didn’t follow my own advice?”

 

He looked at her like he was a dying man and she was his salvation. He nodded slowly. "Thanks, I-" He stuttered "I guess I'm not used to kindness anymore. I'm probably not going to remember this conversation, so if I never see you again-" He swallowed "Thank you for being kind."

She nodded and smiled at him "I'll stay until you're ready to go."

  
  


They sat on that bench together for the next hour, simply watching the snow. 


	2. You Missed Her! How Could You Miss Her? She was 3 Feet in Front of You!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo watches, or more accurately, doesn't watch the news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to BurntKloverfield and Optimistic-violinist for betaing this!  
> I have a lot written down in notebooks and now that the semester is over I can finally go through and type it all up and make some good headway on this!

On the day he left the First Order, Kylo had closed the door with purposeful finality. By leaving the place he had spent the last 8 years of his life, he was leaving the past behind. He found it ironic that Snoke had told him over and over again to ‘let the past die, kill it if you have to’. 

_ Well I finally took his advice… _

Nearly a year of court battles later, the First Order Gang was finished. He was free.

It was all thanks to that woman. The one he couldn’t remember properly. He remembered what she said; those words were etched into his memory forever. If he tried hard enough, sometimes he could see a blurry profile of her face. If only she had turned.  He remembered her unique hairstyle—3 buns at the back of her head—because she wore no hat or hood despite the snow.

Thoughts of the woman occupied his mind like they often did all the way to his apartment. He turned on the TV for white noise, still uncomfortable in the silence. Snoke’s base of operations had always been crowded with people, their comings and goings making noise at all hours of the day and night. He had always felt alone there, frustrated by the abundance of people, yet always alone. He was surprised at how much the lack of constant chatter bothered him, thus the habit of turning on the news just for noise. The shouting of reporters mimicked the arguments that had filtered through the halls. 

Kylo tuned out the news story that was currently being featured, going about his apartment taking care of the list of things he had to do. It was unfortunate really that he excelled at ignoring the TV because if he had been paying attention he would have seen that the people being interviewed were none other than his mother, Senator Leia Organa-Solo, and the mystery woman. Had he been paying attention he would have learned that her name was Rey Niima.

_ “Miss Niima,” The reporter asked, “What are your plans for such a large grant? Did you expect your proposal to be chosen for the New Hope Initiative?” The blonde reporter held out the microphone to Rey.  _

_ “I definitely didn’t expect it! I haven’t even finished my degree yet, I thought for sure they would pick someone with more social work experience.” _

_ “Rey is being modest. We chose her grant because it showed passion for this cause, her proposal was exactly what we were looking for. Unselfish and unwavering commitment to helping the endangered children of Corelia.” The Senator gestured at Rey. “I’m sorry dear, I interrupted. Tell them about your shelter.”  _

_ “Right.” Anyone watching could see the way her eyes lit up. “My grant proposal is to start a shelter for children. We will provide a place for foster children and children from lower-income families to go after school. Most people are wonderful to their kids and have the means necessary to provide for them. Unfortunately there are circumstances where it’s better if a child has a haven they can go to. The shelter will provide free after-school care for children whose families can’t afford anything else. In addition the shelter will be a safe haven for runaway children. We will work closely with child protection services to ensure that each child’s individual needs are met." _

_ Steely eyed, she continued. “No child should feel like they’re trapped, like they don’t have a choice.” _

_ The reporter spoke up asking, “Now Miss Niima, you were in foster care yourself. Is that correct?” _

_ Rey frowned a little at the intrusion of privacy but it was barely noticeable. “Yes,” she answered, purposefully not answering the reporters implied questions about her foster care experience. “That’s why I’m so passionate about this. It’s my goal to make sure that endangered children know that there are options and that there is help available if they’re stuck in a bad situation.”  _

_ Her countenance brightened. “I’ve wanted to do something like this for years, but I never felt like I could make that big of a difference, but then I met this man on a park bench. I talked to him for a bit, and I discovered he had ran away from home as a teenager and that he regretted his decisions since then. I just talked to him for maybe 20 minutes, and I knew that’s what I wanted to do.” _

_ “What made you go and talk to this man? Was he cute?” The reporter teased. _

_ “What? No!-” Rey was flustered for a moment and the reporter received one of Senator Organa-Solo’s trademark Look of Disapproval glares.  _

_ “I had a prompting from The Force.” Rey stated confidently. “I knew that he needed help so I went to talk to him.” _

The news report continued after returning to the main newsroom. Kylo reentered his kitchen at this point catching a few snatches of what the anchors were saying.  “Miss Rey Niima is a Junior at Corelia University double majoring in Social Work, with an emphasis on mental health and trauma, and in Force Studies. She credits her dedication to her childhood experiences and the strength she gains from her church community. After converting to The Church of The Living Force 2 years ago-” 

Kylo scoffed and switched the channel, the old TV making a faint click. He wasn’t in the mood for reminders about the church. Thinking about the church made him think about his parents, and that was a door that was going to stay firmly closed indefinitely.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [tumblr](https://pg-13reylo.tumblr.com/)


End file.
